Disturbing

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2003)

A man named Mark wakes up in a deserted hospital in London. He wanders outside finding no sign of people at all. It seems a plague (transmitted by blood) has turned most of the population into flesh-eating, fast moving zombies. Mark finds a few more uninfected people and they struggle to survive.
I expected a gore fest on the order of "Night of the Living Dead" or "Dawn of the Dead". That's not what I got. There is some extreme violence (including a little bit at the end that I'm surprised got by with an R rating) but not a lot and it comes in short bursts. This story concentrates on the characters and their moods and actions. And, for once, they act just like you would expect people to act in such a situation. Also attention is paid to such things as electricity, water supply, food etc etc which other movies like this totally ignore. But it is depressing and, at the end, extremely disturbing. This isn't a movie you really enjoy...you just appreciate it for how well it's done. Also it was shot in muted color on video which just adds to the feeling of helplessness. It does have some very scary scenes...these zombies move VERY quickly (they're shot in fast motion), the attack scenes have blood gushing out and there's an extremely eerie sequence inside a tunnel.
Also the acting is uniformly good especially by Cillian Murphy (who also has a very lengthy nude scene at the beginning) and Naomie Harris as strong, tough Selena.
Like director Danny Boyle's other films (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary) I like this with reservations. I'm recommending it but only for those with strong stomaches.